You Receive An Unsolicited Photo In Email, Facebook, Etc.. SCAM!

[DougGuy]

I got a few of these from people I don't know, they send you a short "enticing" message with the link to a photo, so you will click on the link. DON'T click this link, DELETE the whole message.

One was real short, sad, like someone you know has died, said it was real sad how he passed, they tried again and asked if he was family, both times there is a link to I assume a photo. Now most people that I know, might not be suspicious right off the get go, and they would click the link, to see the "photo."

And now the attacker has back doored your computer, with your help. They may not do any damage right away, they may have dropped a keylogger which is programmed to alert them upon a certain series of numbers (CC purchase) which is all they want anyway.

On and on, new scams, new ways to get your information, beware!

I know if I am getting these randomly, some of you are as well... Again, if you don't know the sender, don't fall for it, delete the messages, like I did.

EDIT: This "sender" is not a person at all, it is a piece of software that sends out thousands and thousands of these messages using randomly chosen "western" sounding names, probably some hacker got into a server and installed this email bot and the company that runs the server doesn't even know it's there, they wouldn't run this from their own PC, too easy to trace. Some don't even exploit the CC numbers they get, this would leave a trail as well, so they sell these numbers in blocks of thousands to other hackers who may resell them again or actually start making purchases..

[GhostHawk]

Sometimes it can be a "friend" request.

I had this happen to me. 2 days later he was urging me to fill out this form to get money from some grant.
As I started dragging my feet he started getting a bit pushy. So I started digging. Within an hour I'd found a good writeup on the scam, copied it, pasted it in messenger back to the guy that was supposedly my friend. (But who was not, at all)

Silence.

Don't trust, don't open links, question everything that YOU don't initiate.

If in doubt, make a phone call to that relative or friend. "Did you send me a link on facebook or other social media???"

Betcha in most cases they are going to be confused. Protect yourself, don't let them use you as a stepping stone to get to your loved ones and friends.

[Handloader109]

Fakebook has been hit hard in past year or so with hacked friend requests. I've had 3 or 4 "friends" past coworkers that have need hacked this way. It's one reason I don't send or request unless necessary. Just be aware there are many ways to scam you and just don't open emails unless you really know the sender. And if fonts look strange in headers, it is a scam.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Froogal]

I never open an email from someone I don't know. Just mark it as read and then delete. Likewise, I never accept a friend request from someone I don't know. Occasionally, I get a friend request from someone that is already in my friends list. I just ignore it.

[DougGuy]

Occasionally, I get a friend request from someone that is already in my friends list. I just ignore it.

When this happens, and it happens a lot, notify the "real" friend that they've been hacked, and to change their password. You could also report the "new" friend request as someone claiming to be someone else, or claiming to be someone that you know, this seems to get results.

[Bmi48219]

My philosophy:
I don’t do social media. Being ‘known’ (by my way of thinking) is an exercise in ego. If someone I care about has or does something noteworthy, I’ll find out eventually.
Unless you manage it diligently, the whole credit card thing is a racket to separate you from more of your money by making you think you can live beyond your means.
The less emails and texts I receive, the happier I am.

[MaryB]

YouTube has a scam going around, message form the channel name followed by telegram saying you won X. Report it as spam, block the sender, DO NOT CLICK and links! I clicked a link just to see what payload it carried(my system trapped it out and sandboxed it, no harm on my computer but most do not run the level of virus protection I have) and it was a nasty keylogger plus it tried to setup a folder on my system to download images to. Many of these are used to spread child porn!

Pay attention to your hard drive! If a new folder shows up or a lot of drive space is suddenly being used up look for something you did not place on the hard drive and delete it! Do not open the folder, do not look at any pictures because they can carry active code saying hey, he looked, now we can trap him as a pedophile and demand money to stay silent... happened to a friend, he had to drag in the FBI and it was a mess and cost him a bundle in lawyer fees. FBI can toss you in a deep dark hole over it! And you stay there until you can prove your innocence!

[Beerd]

"I don't do social media"
me neither. ;)
..

[Bwana John]

"I don't do social media"
me neither. ;)
..

Is that so?
What do you think you just posted on?

[uscra112]

My philosophy:
I don’t do social media. Being ‘known’ (by my way of thinking) is an exercise in ego. If someone I care about has or does something noteworthy, I’ll find out eventually.
Unless you manage it diligently, the whole credit card thing is a racket to separate you from more of your money by making you think you can live beyond your means.
The less emails and texts I receive, the happier I am.

I kill anywhere up to half a dozen phishing emails a day, even though I've never been a social mediaite. The price of Internet safety is eternal vigilance.

[uscra112]

Is that so?
What do you think you just posted on?

That's pushing the definition a little too far, I think.

[Bwana John]

That's pushing the definition a little too far, I think.

Definition of Social Media: (Webster's Dictionary)
plural in form but singular or plural in construction

Forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content.

[uscra112]

OK, you win the Internet for the next three minutes. :popcorn:

[uscra112]

Time's up!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Like you fellows, I never open something I'm not sure about. I actually got locked down by ransom ware once.

DG

[uscra112]

Something interesting about being a HughesNet user. I used to get "pinged" up to 100 times a day by sites looking for an open port to hack into; half of which traced back to China.

Now I get zero.

I think it may be that HughesNet operates like a VPN, and all that stuff gets blocked before it goes up to the satellite. If I were them, I'd do that. Stuff wastes bandwidth, if nothing else.

[jonp]

When this happens, and it happens a lot, notify the "real" friend that they've been hacked, and to change their password. You could also report the "new" friend request as someone claiming to be someone else, or claiming to be someone that you know, this seems to get results.

Yes, by all means do this. I just got an email from an ex-girlfriend I hadn't talked to for almost 15yrs. Sent her an email letting her know she got hacked and she replied to thank me and let me know a bunch of people had notified her on this. We caught up a little. She had moved, gotten married and had 2 kids. Nice lady, I wished her and her husband well.

[Scrounge]

I got a few of these from people I don't know, they send you a short "enticing" message with the link to a photo, so you will click on the link. DON'T click this link, DELETE the whole message.

One was real short, sad, like someone you know has died, said it was real sad how he passed, they tried again and asked if he was family, both times there is a link to I assume a photo. Now most people that I know, might not be suspicious right off the get go, and they would click the link, to see the "photo."

And now the attacker has back doored your computer, with your help. They may not do any damage right away, they may have dropped a keylogger which is programmed to alert them upon a certain series of numbers (CC purchase) which is all they want anyway.

On and on, new scams, new ways to get your information, beware!

I know if I am getting these randomly, some of you are as well... Again, if you don't know the sender, don't fall for it, delete the messages, like I did.

EDIT: This "sender" is not a person at all, it is a piece of software that sends out thousands and thousands of these messages using randomly chosen "western" sounding names, probably some hacker got into a server and installed this email bot and the company that runs the server doesn't even know it's there, they wouldn't run this from their own PC, too easy to trace. Some don't even exploit the CC numbers they get, this would leave a trail as well, so they sell these numbers in blocks of thousands to other hackers who may resell them again or actually start making purchases..

Just in the past few weeks, I'm getting dozens of emails a day telling me I've won some sort of prize; Yeti coolers, gift cards, etc. Supposedly from Walmart, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, etc. Also that I have a package or message to pick up, supposedly from UPS or Fedex, maybe DHL. Just click this link to get my prize! Right click on the sender email and it has an email address from a domain that is not UPS, Home Depot, etc. In addition, they are not sent just to me, but to a list of email addresses from my email provider, and not BCC'd. All get marked spam and deleted. I'm pretty sure it's a bot. And the programmer/script-kiddy who set it up is both stupid and lazy. I'd really like to find the actual originating IP address(es), and drop a Mark 82 down their chimney. I've got better things to do with the years I have left than filter their spam.

Bill

[Baltimoreed]

I like what Sgt Apone said in Aliens ‘Nobody touch nothin.’